As the largest mammals, elephants have the title of being one of the most majestic creatures in the world. Their strength and intelligence have captivated humanity since the dawn of time; this is mainly due to the noble personality that has made them standards of values among many cultures. Besides their size, what makes elephants such fascinating creatures is their social abilities and their intelligence. Not only do they communicate with each other through unique mechanisms, but they also have a sense of community and family like no other creatures.
Now, although we can all be mesmerized by the beauty and personality of elephants in general, there’s no doubt that baby elephants steal the spotlight with their cuteness and hilarious traits. Here are 11 facts about baby elephants that will definitely melt your heart.
1. Let’s start with the fact that baby elephants are actually called calves or calf in singular.
2. Being the largest mammals on Earth and being gestated for about 22 months, baby elephants can weigh up to 200 pounds. On average, they are 3 feet tall when they’re born.
3. They’re born blinded and learn to recognize their mothers and the environment through scent, touch, and sound.
4. Calves are born with hair that disappears as they grow up. Its function is to help cool down and regulate the temperature of their skin.
5. They drink their mother’s milk for years and have about three gallons of milk a day. Although they start eating plants before their first year, they keep drinking milk to keep themselves well-fed. Some elephants will keep drinking milk for five to ten years!
6. Unlike other animals, calves are fully dependent on their mothers in the first three years of their lives. Like human babies, they don’t have many survival instincts, so they are very close to their mothers to learn all those skills.
7. About this, elephants live in communities, and they’re very protective of their calves. Baby elephants are well aware of this; when they’re in trouble they know how to communicate so the entire community can come to their aid.
8. Like human babies suck their thumbs, baby elephants like sucking their trunks. In fact, at first, they don’t really know what to do with them, so it’s common seeing them stumbling with their trunks and even hitting themselves with them.
9. Talking about trunks, baby elephants learn how to control their trunks when they reach their first year of life. Also, they learn to eat, drink, and bathe through it when they’re about six months old.
10. Elephants are among the most intelligent creatures on Earth, and even though they can’t survive on their own, baby elephants are quite smart from a very young age. While being extremely close to their mothers, calves start mimicking them and other adult elephants. Through imitation and their curious souls, they develop their own personalities.
11. When they start eating solid food, it’s not that strange to see baby elephants eating all sorts of things, including dung from other elephants! This has two reasons. The first one is because they’re in a phase when they’re curious about the taste. You can also see them sticking their trunks on the mouths of elder elephants to taste the food they ate earlier. The second reason is that they do so to ingest some bacteria to update their immune system and help their digestion. Really smart creatures!
Photos from Unsplash (Julie Wolpers/ Maurits Bausenhart/ Glen Carrie)
